The International MSc in Management is a pre-experience program, which means it is suitable for those who have just graduated or are about to graduate from a Bachelors program and have less than 2 years of professional experience. An MBA is designed as a post-experience program, which means it is appropriate for graduates with at least two years' professional experience.

Upon completion of the program, the Universidade Católica Portuguesa will grant you the Master Degree. Our Master Programs alumni have the best reputation among Portuguese schools and Career Placement is consistently ranked as a TOP10 worldwide by the Financial Times Rankings for Master Programs. A CATÓLICA-LISBON Degree is recognized worldwide as we are part of the restricted group of 1% of Business Schools worldwide accredited by all three management education associations (AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA) and CATÓLICA-LISBON is consistently ranked in the Top 25 of European Business Schools (Financial Times Top European Business Schools Ranking).

For application purposes, we do not require a formal certificate from your school, but we do require a non-official document from your home school with all the courses you have attended and respective grades [you may extract this information from your students’ personal webpage]. However, you will need to have completed your undergraduate degree to be able to join the MSc program.

After you submit your application and in case the Admission Jury consider it necessary, you will be invited to take the CATÓLICA-LISBON Internal Admission Test, which takes place at CATÓLICA-LISBON in a pre-established date. This test has a non-refundable fee of 40€ and it is inspired in the GMAT exam. It assesses both your analytical and critical reasoning skills (20 Problem Solving questions and 20 Data Sufficiency questions, covering all degrees of difficulty). However you will only know the results of your application after the exam.

No. CATÓLICA-LISBON is a pontifical university (meaning it is statutorily ruled by an agreement between the Portuguese State and the Holy See), but we host students, faculty and staff from multiple creeds. Your religious background (or lack of it) will not be a factor in our admissions criteria or in the course of the programs and you will only be asked to follow a code of conduct similar to any other university.

The first step to start your application is to create an account in our platform. After that, you have to submit your Curriculum Vitae, Transcript of Records (courses, grades and ECTS) and a Motivation Letter (all in English) and pay the application fee.

A month later, you will receive a final decision by the Admission Jury and in case your application is successful, you will have to pay the enrollment fee.

The Admission Jury bases its decision on the strength of the application as a whole. Apart from the academic background and GPA, aspects like professional experience, international exposure and extracurricular activities are taken into consideration by the Admission Jury.

We highly recommend all candidates to apply as early as possible since places are limited and the admissions process is highly competitive. Keep in mind that places are attributed in each round, which means that applications submitted in the last rounds, have less probabilities to be successful.

In your application, you can apply up to 3 Master’s Programs (by order of preference). In case you are not admitted to your first choice, the Admission Jury will consider your application to the second and third choice.

Our MSc programs are fully taught in English and the thesis must be submitted in English, so you will need a high level of fluency. During your application process, you don't need to prove your English proficiency but if you wish to do so, you can submit one of these exams: TOEFL (recommended score): 600 (PBT), 250 (CBT), or 100 (IBT); IELTS: (recommended score): 7.0; CAE: a minimum of C.

Recommendation letters are not mandatory but you can submit them in your application, as an additional document. Recommendation letters can only be submitted in your application and exclusively by using the Online Application form. Any documents that are not submitted in the Application form will not be considered in your application as we will not open nor view them.

The motivation letter is your opportunity to present yourself to the Admission Jury. Take this opportunity to explain why you have the perfect fit for the CATÓLICA-LISBON Master Program of your choice. You should not exceed one page.

If you are interested in a Double Degree Program, you will have the opportunity to apply during the program selection step of the Online Application Form. You can select up to 3 Double Degree Programs for each Master Program selected. You will have to submit a motivation letter for each Double Degree chosen in your application.

All applications are considered on merit. We consider not only the marks on your transcript but also your profile as a whole. Academic references, personal statement, professional experience, international exposure, extracurricular achievements, and any additional test scores should be submitted for consideration. Your application will be strengthened if you are able to present a high GRE/GMAT score. However, take into consideration that the selection process is highly selective and a low GPA will reduce chances for admission.

We only accept one application per intake. If your application was unsuccessful and you wish to reapply to our Master Programs, we strongly recommend you to improve your profile and to wait for the next intake.

If you are a non-European (Non-EU) Citizen, you will need to ask for a Visa. If you become a CATÓLICA-LISBON full-time MSc student – you will have to request a Residence Visa for Study Purposes (which will allow you to require, once in Portugal, a Resident Permit for Students in Higher Education). Based on our experience, we recommend you not to request a Student Visa (which can only be temporarily extended and does not allow you to request a Resident Permit for Students in Higher Education).

Even though it is the students’ responsibility to deal with the Portuguese Immigration and Border Services and to obtain a visa, our International Relations Office will be pleased to give you advice on visa related matters upon your enrollment.